General information
Cryogenic systems include specific challenges, such as:
- Heat exchanger thermal efficiency of more than 99%.
- Cooler for temperatures below -196°C, are subject to special materials, construction and certification procedures.
- Very high leak tightness test requirements, which can be performed under helium design pressures up to 25bar (g).
- Thermal stresses due to the steep temperature gradient in the heat exchanger can cause material failure if not included in the design calculations.
- Advanced CFD and FEM calculations can be performed to predict system performance and reliability before production starts.
Parts used in cryogenic coolers require the use of advanced and certified stainless steel alloys. Oversluizen/Alfa Laval can serve its customers with the necessary materials and certifications up to 25 bar (g) and for temperatures down to -196 °C. That is, very close to absolute zero. Such temperatures are used, among other things, in physics research, for example to allow superconducting materials to generate enormous magnetic fields at very low operating temperatures.
Alfa Laval also collaborates with the German institute Institut für Luft- und Kältetechnik (ILK) Dresden, which is one of the leading European institutes in the cryogenic sector.